


Sticky Notes

by LovingAlex



Series: Domestic AF [7]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Affectionate Insults, Arthur Being an Asshole, Arthur is a little shit, Domestic, Idiots in Love, M/M, Merlin is a Little Shit, They're both assholes to eachother, sticky notes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-02
Updated: 2019-07-02
Packaged: 2020-06-02 19:28:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19448041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LovingAlex/pseuds/LovingAlex
Summary: Merlin starts leaving Arthur little notes all over their house that say stuff like “Reminder: I love you.” and “Hey, you’re the best!”Arthur then responds by leaving his own sticky notes for Merlin.It wasn't the reaction Merlin was going for....





	Sticky Notes

**Author's Note:**

> I had too much fun writing this one XD

Merlin first got the idea while scrolling through pinterest. He was looking for different holiday decoration ideas. Now that they had a house bigger than his mother’s, they would probably host holiday dinners now and Merlin wanted neat decoration ideas for when people came over. It was pure chance that he came across a few sticky note projects while looking at Thanksgiving centerpiece crafts. 

He buys a pack of good quality notepads with his other supplies when he goes grocery shopping the next day. He makes sure to get the good kind so they don’t fall off the second Merlin turns away.

That night, while Arthur is asleep, he places a note on the blond’s lunch container for the next day. And then another one right above Arthur’s key hook. Knowing Arthur, it’ll make him smile, but he probably won’t do anything back. Merlin would be lucky if the man even mentions them later. He goes back to bed to snuggle up against Arthur.

xXxXx

The next morning, Arthur goes through his usual routine. 

He takes a shower, brushes his teeth, puts on clothes. (Merlin loves the fact that Arthur walks around stark naked most of the time. Arthur will never admit that he likes the stares.)

He heads downstairs and to the kitchen to get a cup of coffee. Now that he’s had his daily dose of wake up juice, he’s able to gather things to go to work. 

Wallet. 

Computer bag. 

Lunch contai--  _ what is  _ **_that?_ **

On the lid of the container is a blue sticky note saying “ _ Reminder: I love you.” _ Arthur gives it a weird look, then throws it away.

He puts his jacket on and goes to grab his keys, but there’s another note saying “ _ Hey, you’re the best! _ ” This one gets a raised eyebrow. Arthur stares at it for a second, then an idea pops into his head and a mischievous smirk pulls at his lips.

xXxXx

Merlin gets up around an hour later. He’s never been one to sleep in too long on a weekday. Weekends are another matter, but that’s a story to be told  _ later _ .

Shuffling into the kitchen in just his boxers and socks, he grabs a box of Lucky Charms, a bowl, a spoon, and sets them down on their small kitchen table. He pours the cereal almost to the brim, then shuffles over to the fridge for some milk.

Closing the fridge door, he notices that there’s a new yellow sticky note on the freezer door. It says “ _ I love me too _ ”

Merlin blinks twice is confusion, but brushes it off and continues with his breakfast.

While pouring his second bowl, it hits him. “Wait a minute!” he says out loud, slamming down the cereal box and making it fling some marshmallows around. 

Running to the front door, he sees that there’s another note hanging above the keys. It’s in the same place he left his the night before, but this time it’s yellow and says “ _ Of course I’m the best. _ ”

“Are you kidding me? That prat!” he rips the note off the wall and crumbles it up. 

Oh, this was definitely gonna require some pay back...

xXxXx

That night, neither of them mention the notes. As if it’s an unspoken agreement to leave things unsaid. They both act as if nothing happened...

Once Arthur is asleep, Merlin slips away, grabbing his blue sticky notepad and going to work.

xXxXx

Arthur pauses in scrubbing his damp hair with a small towel. Staring back at him, eye level on the inside of the closet door, is yet another blue sticky note. “ _ Don’t forget to put on deodorant, your stink will scare away the clients.” _

He rips it down and crumples it up, sending a glare over his shoulder at Merlin. The raven haired man is spread eagle, taking up as much bed as possible and his cheek squished into one of the fluffy pillows Arthur insisted they have.

Arthur is busy contemplating what to write back when he finds another note on his lunch container that says “ _ I was gonna make you more, but you’re fat enough as it is.” _

“Oh, is this how it’s gonna go now?” Arthur grumbles to himself before shoving the crumpled note in his pocket and grabbing his yellow ones from his office bag.

Being second in command of a big company has its perks. Sticky Notes galore is one of them.

xXxXx

Merlin shuffles groggily into the bathroom a few hours later to take a piss. He’s rubbing sleep from his eyes when a flash of yellow catches his attention. Over on the mirror is a sticky note.

He finishes up and goes over to see what it says. “ _ Says the person who gets to work from home and laze around all day _ ” Merlin scoffs and snatches it off the mirror. That was weak, Arthur could do better than that sad excuse of an insult.

He heads downstairs for some breakfast and finds a second sticky note stuck to the side of his favorite cereal box.  _ “I’m only fat from eating take out cause you can’t cook.”  _ Merlin slams down the box on the small table and goes to grab the milk.

“ _ Case in point _ ” a third note mocks him from the side of the jug. 

“This means war…” Merlin announces to the empty house. Damn prat… Misleads him with a bad one, then completely trashes him. 

xXxXx

And so on it goes….

A  _ “At least I don’t have to wear a stupid monkey suit”  _ in the sock drawer, a  _ “Yet I still cook better than you” _ inside Arthur’s lunch cooler.

Replies of  _ “You love the suit, you kinky twat” _ stuck on Merlin’s toothpaste and a  _ “You also love my steak” _ on the kitchen sink’s faucet.

_ “I’m the kinky one? Okay  _ **_bottom_ ** _ ”  _ On the fridge. Arthur finds the second one at work when he opens up his laptop. He snatches the “ _ Your meat is too dry and tastes bland” _ off of his screen. He rips that one up before throwing it in the trash with a blush. Damn him. He knows exactly what that implies. Not a pleasant way to spend the rest of his day in the office with just his thoughts…

The next morning, they start anew.

_ “I didn’t hear any complaints last night _ ” is found on the inside of the toilet lid, followed by a  _ “You’re still thinking about it, aren’t you?”  _ on Merlin’s work desk. Both leaving Merlin flustered all day, just like he left Arthur the day before. Call it sweet revenge.

xXxXx

After they got all that out of their systems, subjects got a bit more random…

_ “Your sister is a hamster and your father smells like elderberries” _ Merlin leaves one morning.

_ “Your point?”  _ Arthur replies, followed by  _ “At least I have siblings and a dad” _

“ _ At least  _ **_I_ ** _ have a  _ **_mom_ ** _ ”  _

_ “Yeah, and you’re your own sister.”  _

_ “You’re just jealous ‘cause I look better in a skirt” _

xXxXx

_ “Make sure you don’t make a fool of yourself during your presentation” … “Like the failure you are” _

_ “I remember my speeches, unlike some certain blondes” … “Who needed someone to remind them?” _

_ “That was  _ **_one time_ ** **_!_ _!”_ **

_ “That was our  _ **_wedding!!_ ** _ ” _

xXxXx

There’s little banter notes back and forth every weekday morning. No one ever brings it up, but they both know that it’s just their way of showing affection. 

Others might think it weird, or even abusive. Insulting each other every morning like they do. Some would take the insults to heart, but Arthur and Merlin know, that despite all these faults, they’ll never leave each other’s side. 

For them, it fits just right. 

**Author's Note:**

> This was definitely my favorite to write. Fun Fact: This was one of the first stories I came up with for this series. One of the original three that started out as separate story ideas before I shoved them all together and added on.


End file.
